Presentation of SWF 2021 Report in New York City

Last Thursday evening, on September 29, 2022, the Sovereign Wealth Research program at the IE Center for the Governance of Change organized the presentation of the Sovereign Wealth Funds Report in NYC, in collaboration with ICEX-Invest in Spain and the Trade Commission of Spain.

The venue could not have been any better, the iconic Chrysler Building (owned for eleven years by the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, a SWF) and attendees included profiles from management consulting, investment banking, academia, SWF experts and multilateral organizations.

The presentation highlighted the record deal activity of SWFs with assets under management surpassing $10 trillion for the first time. The panel of experts that followed uncovered the responses of SWFs as stable long-term investors to the pandemic effects, and the recent geopolitical and economic turbulence.

At the first level, SWFs were showcased as a source of financial innovation, with the example of Capital Constellation, a collaborative asset owner network supported by SWFs introduced by its managing director, Daniel Adamson.

On a second level, the panel highlighted the de-risking role these institutions can play in fostering impact investing in complex institutional settings, with the intervention of Elaine Genser, in charge of partnerships at the United Nations Joint SDG Fund.

Last, but not least, we understood more clearly how countries attract SWF resources and the catalytic role displayed by SWFs in multiple geographies, including Latin America, by Adrián Blanco, Head of Funding at ICEX-Invest in Spain.

The event was closed with a debate on the future of SWFs around tapas and drinks in an informal and productive conversation.

Agenda

18:30    Welcome Remarks

– Bruno Fernández, Trade Commissioner, Trade Commission of Spain in New York, ICEX

– Doan Trang Nguyen, Regional Senior Manager North America, IE University

18:40    Highlights of the 2021 Sovereign Wealth Funds Report

– Javier Capapé, Director Sovereign Wealth Research – Center for the Governance of Change, IE University

19:00    Panel Discussion on SWFs

– Elaine Genser, Head of Partnerships and Investment Advisor Officer United Nations Joint SDG Fund

– Daniel Adamson, President & Senior Managing Director, Capital Constellation & Wafra

– Adrián Blanco, Head of Funding Department & Head of LATAM-Desk, ICEX

– Moderator: Javier Capapé, Director SWR – Center for the Governance of Change, IE University

19:40    Questions from the Audience

20:00    Networking Cocktail

About the Speaker

Javier Capapé is the Director of the Sovereign Wealth Research program at the IE Center for the Governance of Change and an Adjunct Professor at IE University. He earned his PhD from ESADE Business School and the University of Illinois (USA). He has been a Consultant at the United Nations Environment Program on Sovereign Wealth Funds and Sustainable Development Goals. Since 2012, he is SovereigNET Research Affilia-te at The Fletcher School (Tufts University) and Co-Editor of the Sovereign Wealth Funds Reports series, an initiative backed by ICEX. He has published in top academic journals such as the Academy of Management Perspectives and Oxford University Press. His research has been regularly cited in international media (including Financial Times, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, and Reuters).